Woman who joked about contaminating grocery store with Covid-19 sentenced to prison
In the early days of the pandemic, a Pennsylvania woman named Margaret Cirko walked into a Hanover grocery store and began to cough and spit on produce, claiming to be sick with Covid-19. This week, a county judge sentenced her to one to two years in jail for the incident, NPR reports. Cirko plead guilty to one count of making a bomb threat, of all things. You might be thinking: Wait, Covid-19 is serious, but it’s not a bomb. It’s unclear why that particular charge was ultimately levied against Cirko, who originally faced five other less serious criminal accusations, including mischief and disorderly conduct. Those—which seem appropriate—were later withdrawn. Cirko’s lawyer said she was drunk at the time, and she tested negative for the virus. Not taking any chances, the grocery store tossed more than $35,000 in produce. She’ll pay $30,000 in restitution.
